This disclosure relates to an illumination unit emitting illumination light including a laser beam, and a display apparatus performing picture display using such illumination light.
Optical modules, which are one of the main components of projectors (projection type display apparatus), typically include an illumination optics (illumination unit) including a light source, and a projection optics including a light modulation device. In recent years, small-size (palm-size) and lightweight portable projectors which are called micro projectors are becoming widely used in the field of projectors. In the past, in the micro projector, Light Emitting Diode (LED) has been mainly used as a light source of an illumination unit.
On the other hand, nowadays, a laser is drawing attention as a new light source of the illumination unit. For example, as a projector using laser beams of three primary colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), a projector using a gas laser has been known. The projector using a laser as a light source is proposed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-250473. When a laser is used as a light source, a projector which provides wide range of color reproduction and small power consumption is allowed to be achieved.